Indie

Cherry Lane Picks INgrooves for Digital Distribution

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 22, 2009 - 12:44pm.
New York - Cherry Lane Music Group's Cherry Picked Records announced on Tuesday that it has signed with INgrooves to provide digital distribution, marketing and promotion services. Cherry Picked owns and administers master recordings for a number of developing artists, as well as for brands such as Marvel Entertainment, NFL Films, Pokemon and NASCAR.

IODA Inks Music Distribution Pact with Brazil's Tratore

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 14, 2009 - 11:57am.
San Francisco - IODA, a digital distributor of independent music and film, announced on Monday that it has signed a deal with Brazil-based distributor Tratore. Under the deal, IODA's independent music catalog will be distributed via Tratore's network of mobile and download stores.

tags: Music | Indie | IODA | Tratore |

TuneCore Adds CD Distribution via Amazon's CreateSpace

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 11:59am.
Seattle - TuneCore, a provider of low-cost digital music distribution for artists and labels, has opened a store at Amazon's (NASD: AMZN) CreateSpace on-demand CD pressing service, meaning that TuneCore acts can now also distribute CDs of their music through Amazon.com, Hypebot reported.

The Orchard Launches Slate of New Artist Services

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2009 - 12:38pm.
New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor of independent music and video, on Tuesday announced the launch of a new platform that will give its label and artist clients new sales, analytic and marketing tools, widget and iPhone application creation, and data tracking services. The Workstation platform is open to developers interested in offering music-related applications to Orchard customers. The initial offering will include applications from ArtistData, Band Metrics, TheBizmo, BMAT, FanBridge, Mediaguide, Mobile Roadie, New Reach Technologies, Peekok, Topspin, Trendrr, and uPlaya.

Report: EMI Stops Selling CDs to Some Indie Record Stores

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 30, 2009 - 11:53am.
London - Major record label EMI has begun informing some independent record stores that it will no longer sell them physical product, and that if they wish to carry EMI CDs, they will need to purchase them from stores like Walmart or Best Buy and resell them, according to a post on ex-Grosker head Wayne Rosso's blog. "Several [independent record stores] I have spoken with are so upset that they vow never to buy any EMI catalog again -- or any new artist releases either," Rosso wrote. "Only the certifiable hit product that they know will sell. They will no longer take chances on new EMI artists."

tags: Music | Indie | Retail | EMI | Wayne Rosso |

Spotify Adds 2 Million IODA Songs to Ad-Supported Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 21, 2009 - 11:55am.
Stockholm, Sweden - Spotify, an ad-supported streaming music service with around 4 million users in Europe, has announced a deal to add 2 million new tracks to its service through an agreement with independent digital music distributor IODA. The company recently said it plans to launch in the U.S., and also has applications for the iPhone and Android platforms on the way.

The Orchard Teams With A&R Veteran Michael Caplan

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 21, 2009 - 11:47am.
New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor and marketer of independent music and video, said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with One Haven Music and its chairman and CEO, Michael Caplan. Under the deal, The Orchard will provide One Haven with sales, marketing, physical and digital distribution, co-investment capital and others. Caplan, an industry A&R veteran, will in turn sign and provide A&R support to acts represented by The Orchard.

INgrooves, Topspin Partner for Digital Music Marketing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 21, 2009 - 11:46am.
San Francisco - INgrooves, a provider of digital distribution, marketing and promotional services for independent musicians, on Tuesday announced a partnership with Topspin, a direct-to-fan marketing, management and distribution platform. The deal will see Topspin provide its marketing platform to INgrooves artists and labels on an enterprise basis. The Crystal Method is the first INgrooves act to launch a promotion via Topspin, in the form of a contest in connection with a track from the band provided for the soundtrack of "X Games 3D: The Movie."

Music Social Network Kerchoonz Adds Beggars Group Tracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 21, 2009 - 11:44am.
Glasgow, Scotland - Kerchoonz, an online social network that also features ad-supported music streaming, said on Tuesday that it has licensed 20,000 tracks from independent label group Beggars Group for inclusion on its service. The deal includes music from all European-based labels and artists.

Muzu.tv Adds Merlin-Represented Indie Music Videos

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 20, 2009 - 11:35am.
Dublin, Ireland - Muzu.tv, an Ireland-based music video portal, announced on Monday a licensing deal with Merlin, a consortium of independent record labels. The deal will see music videos from independent artists on labels including Beggars Group, Domino, Warp and Epitaph added on Muzu. Along with music videos, the site also offers concerts, documentaries, interviews and episodes of classic music TV shows.

Pandora Comments on New Submission Requirement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 1, 2009 - 9:27am.
San Francisco - Tim Westergren, founder and CEO of streaming music service Pandora, has responded to complaints about the company's new requirement that independent artists first list a CD for sale on Amazon before they are eligible for play on Pandora, Hypebot reports. Westergren chalked the move up to three reasons: "user experience, improving the metadata, and managing submissions." "We are huge believers in not discriminating against aspiring/emerging artists -- 70% of the 75,000 artists in our collection are not on a major label," Westergren told Hypebot. "All we're asking of artists is to make great music, and have it available for easy purchase for Pandora's audience."

Sony Music, RED in Talks With IODA for Distribution, Marketing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 1, 2009 - 9:25am.
Los Angeles - Major record label Sony Music Entertainment and its RED Distribution arm are in talks to partner with IODA, a provider of digital distribution services for independent artists, Digital Music News reported. The proposed deal reportedly centers on use of IODA's Rightsholder Dashboard, an online tool that artists, managers and labels can use to track sales and related data.

Pandora Requires Indie Artists to Have CDs Listed on Amazon

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 30, 2009 - 8:35am.
San Francisco - Streaming radio service Pandora is now requiring independent artists to stock a physical CD for sale at Amazon.com before adding their songs to the service, Hypebot reported. Submissions must be available as a physical CD, and include cover art and a UPC code, in part due to a deal to display album art on Pandora via Amazon's servers. Artists are also encouraged to joint the Amazon Advantage Program, which costs $29.95 per year and gives Amazon a 55% cut of profits from CD sales.

tags: Music | Indie | Pandora | Amazon.com |

eMusic CEO: Price Hike Prompted by Indies, Not Sony Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 15, 2009 - 11:56am.
San Francisco - Digital music service eMusic said that its recent price increase which has many users unhappy had more to do with calls to raise prices from independent labels than it did with its new deal to add Sony Music's catalog to its offering, Wired.com reported. "The price change is something that all of our labels have been asking for, for a long time, and it's really a necessary move for us to maintain a viable business," CEO Danny Stein told Wired.com. "We're about 50 percent cheaper than iTunes and Amazon. And we hope those people will stick with us and see what we do with the Sony catalog and all the other labels that we may get in the future."

tags: Music | Indie | eMusic | Sony Music |

LimeWire Signs Indie Label Partners for Web Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 9, 2009 - 12:21pm.
New York - LimeWire, distributors of the LimeWire peer-to-peer file-sharing application, on Tuesday announced that it has added tracks from a number of new independent labels to its online store. The deals with Skint/Loaded, Alpha Pup, CAM and Mbop Digital will bring tracks to the service from artists including Miles Davis, Hall and Oates, !!!, Fatboy Slim and James Brown.

tags: P2P | Music | Indie | Retail | LimeWire |

Report: Indie Labels in Talks to Join VEVO Music Video Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 9, 2009 - 11:56am.
San Francisco - VEVO, the music video site in the works from Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, Universal Music Group and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music, is in talks to sign on A2IM, a consortium of over 225 independent record labels, Wired.com reported.

CD Baby to Add Ability to Sell Single Track Downloads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 22, 2009 - 10:20am.
Portland, Ore. - CD Baby, a provider of CD and digital album distribution for independent artists, plans to begin offering the ability to sell single song downloads from its website, Hypebot reports. "Just like with full album pricing, you'll be able to charge whatever you want for individual song downloads (and each track can be priced differently)," including offering tracks for free, the company said on its blog.

tags: Music | Indie | Retail | CD Baby |

Amazon, TuneCore Partner to Offer Artists On-Demand CD Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 22, 2009 - 9:36am.
Seattle - Online retail giant Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) is expected to announce a partnership with no-frills digital music distributor TuneCore, providing artists with a means to distribute on-demand physical CDs via Amazon's CreateSpace service, Wired.com reports.

The Orchard Signs Multi-Faceted Deal With Wynton Marsalis

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2009 - 11:05am.
New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a provider of digital music distribution and marketing services, said on Wednesday that jazz legend Wynton Marsalis has signed a long-term, multi-faceted deal with the company. Under the terms, The Orchard will cover co-production of new studio recordings; marketing of live recordings; social networking elements; synchronization; branding; and recruiting by Marsalis of additional artists for similar deals.

NBC's Brian Williams Debuts Web Music Interview Series

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 11, 2009 - 12:37pm.
New York - NBC (NYSE: GE) news anchor Brian Williams on Monday announced the launch of a new Web-only indie music interview series, "BriTunes." "I have always loved identifying good music and good groups -- discovering them early (bar bands are best) and following them through their journey," Williams wrote in a blurb introducing the series, which kicks off with an interview with Brooklyn-based Deer Tick.